Lost: The stories of all ships lost by the
Royal Australian Navyby Allen Lyne, Moana Heights SA, Self-published,
2013. ISBN: 9780646903750.RRP $32 + $5 postage within Australia

Reviewed by Ian Pfennigwerth

WHO KNEW that the RAN had
lost 45 ships in its hundred years of existence? Probably nobody, until Allen
Lyne spent five years researching the issue. His book describes the background,
circumstances and the events leading to these losses, some of them well known,
others far from so. Those not overly familiar with the history and circumstances
in which the RAN has operated and fought will be grateful for the author’s
thorough explanations. Lyne has also used his researcher’s prerogative to
pass judgment on who or what was to blame for the
losses.

A summary of Lyne’s research
reveals that ten of the vessels, mostly those of the Naval Auxiliary Patrol
(NAP) in WWII, were lost to fire, six to groundings or strandings, five to collisions and four to unknown causes.
Two were lost in storms, one hit an Australian-laid mine and sank, and one
was sunk when the wharf it was secured to collapsed on it! The remaining 16
were lost though enemy action, a terrible toll but, possibly, a source of
pride in Australia’s navy as a fighting service – and preferable to running
ships aground or having them collide.

Lyne has clearly spent his
research time wisely and well. His analysis of the collision in Port Phillip
that sank the minesweeper Goorangai with all hands in 1940 demonstrates that
it was probably the liner Duntroon that caused the accident, but that
a smart lawyer can work wonders to obscure the facts. Of course, there are
no blameless parties in any collision, but this one seems to have been especially
hard on the victim. He covers the loss of Sydney to SMS Kormoran,
and introduces some interesting observations on a similar incident – fortunately
‘blue-on-blue’- involving the cruiser HMS Neptune. A lack of sensible
precautions while approaching a suspicious merchant ship is the common factor
in both incidents.

For reasons not entirely
clear (petrol in the bilges?), the NAP vessels were particularly prone to
fire. The Japanese aerial attacks on Darwin accounted for five of the small
craft lost to enemy action, precious vessels at a time when anything that
could float and move was a valuable item. The stores tender Matafele
probably foundered because the alterations made to her structure had not been
properly assessed for the effects they might have on her stability: her wreck
remains unlocated.

Lyne is understanding of the
perils which faced Lieutenant Commander Robison at Betano in September 1942
and which led to the stranding of Voyager and her complete loss – there
were certainly extenuating circumstances. He is less kind to Commodore Pope
who launched Operation HAMBURGER, exposing two corvettes and the patrol vessel
Kuru on a similar mission to Timor in December the same year to serious
Japanese reprisals, and ordering it to continue when it was clearly fatally
compromised. Perhaps it was the “fog of war” which clouded his judgement,
but it cost the lives of 100 men and the RAN the corvette Armidale.

A board of inquiry into the
loss of HMAS Canberra at Savo Island in August
1942 was unable to determine the reason she was lost so easily and the attempt
by Bruce Loxton to sheet the blame home to a US destroyer’s torpedo was not
totally satisfactory. Lyne comes up with no new evidence. There are no such
mysteries about the loss of Vampire in April 1942, overwhelmed by Japanese
bombs. ML-430 was the victim of an attack by fellow ML, very
obviously a’ fog of war ’incident, which fortunately cost no lives.

Of the peacetime losses, Lyne
correctly observes that Voyager should have kept out of the path of
Melbourne on 10 February 1964 and that why she did not will forever
remain a mystery, whatever Royal Commissions might say. In the sinking of
the stores ship Woomera in 1960 with the loss of four lives, human
cupidity seems to be involved although if there was a board of inquiry – as
there should have been – Lyne does not cite from it. Were the ship and these
men lost because of the desire to salvage parachute silk from flares?

There are points in the book
over which one might quibble. It is not appropriate to criticise the RAN
for having no aircraft carriers in 1939: only three navies did, and the RAN
had staged a remarkable comeback from almost disappearing during the Great
Depression. Similarly, I’ve yet to see any evidence that a shortage of experienced
senior NCOs affected the performance of the RAN in World War II. On the contrary,
there is much to show that the RAN, while expanding from a force of 7,500
to close to 40,000, performed pretty well, especially as most of the new recruits
were “hostilities only” personnel.

But these are quibbles only.
Lyne’s book is an interesting and thought-provoking addition to our naval
history, one which throws light on the debit side of the ledger. I thoroughly
recommend it to a general audience and to experts alike.

Allen Lyne sailed with the
RAN for 12 years, before studying politics and English at the University of
Adelaide and then for many years being involved in professional theatre as
an actor, playwright and director. ln that time
he also published a number of stories, often with many a wry twist and touch
of humour. This background overall comes to the fore in Lost,
a carefully crafted collection of accounts examining the loss at sea of all
RAN ships and many crew members. The stories are written with vigour, precision
and a critical mind. The result is a gripping read.

The loss of sailors is a terrible
thing. Lyne goes to great pains. He is full of compassion for the men who
have not returned when their ambition and camaraderie have been instrumental
in taking ships - with names like Perth and Sydney, Vampire
and Canberra - into the far ocean and in many cases, into battle with
an enemy. Not that all ships have been lost in battle. Peacetime losses
are also considered in Lost, the loss of Voyager 2 for instance, in
trials off Jervis Bay, and Arrow, lost in Cyclone Tracey.

There is a huge waste of enterprise
when a ship sinks ranging from the planning and building of a fine vessel
to its launching with flags flying from a shipyard, with optimistic feelings,
blessings, and consideration even then for all those who might sail in her--all-gone.

The sailors talk about their
ship as "she", it is a mother to them, their one support in the
vast seas over which they sail. Their lives are reliant on its capacity to
keep afloat, keep going, and accordingly they work as a tight team to keep
it going. They show great pride in their work but it is also a matter of
self-preservation. The job has to be well done. Consequently, "The
Australian Navy is a highly disciplined force," the writer stresses.
He admires that quality and raises a number of examples to emphasize it.

When a ship goes down in battle
there's the chance of sailors being trapped in the sinking hull. There may
be wounded among those in the hull. Other sailors are left clinging to rafts
in the hope of rescue or in small boats. ln the
case of the cruiser HMAS Sydney lost a day out of Fremantle in November
1941, the entire crew of 645 went down with the ship. Fate at its worst can
be so destructive.

The vulnerability of leadership
comes up a lot in Lyne's book. As a sailor below decks he has a shrewd weather
eye for what his leaders might be doing and writes with confidence on many
of the situations he has analysed. His thoughts on why each ship has been
lost are a compelling read.

Forty five ships over sixty
years are studied in Lyne's account and a fascinating and yet very distinctive
collection of stories he has written. There are all kinds and sizes of ships
from the submarine AE2, which plunged through the Dardanelles and created
havoc in the sea of Marmara in April 1915, to Maroubra, a wooden ocean
going vessel with sails and engine, 61 feet long, 52 tons, that worked as
a patrol boat and stores carrier. lt was delivering materials to the air force base at Millingimbi
in May 1943 when some marauding Japanese Zeros attacked the ship with bombs
and destroyed it. Fortunately there were no casualties. The large and the
small are treated with equal respect.

A photograph has not been
found for each ship but there are nevertheless a useful selection provided
from a range of sources. Such illustrations are invaluable as are the comprehensive
backgrounds given for the origin, type and record of each ship prior to loss.
Access to Naval Archives, old sailors and old commanders with their touches
of humanity, has been vital in this process. Accordingly, each loss is carefully
referenced.

The saga of each loss is written
well with a strong sense of the drama, involved, and perhaps none more striking
than in the loss of the minesweeper Warrnambool, which hit a mine off
the coast of North Queensland in September 1947. lt
was a British Mark 14 contact mine containing 500 pounds of explosive. As
Lyne writes, quoting from the diary of Lieutenant-Commander Jarrett, who was
First Lieutenant on the ship at the time:

‘When the mine struck the
whole ship was lifted out of the water bows uppermost in a flurry of white
foam.... The ship rattled like all the saucepans one can imagine falling
from a great height - and then the great waterspout-thrown up-by the detonation
descended. Solid water seemed to keep hammering down pouring off the decks
shin deep. "Oh God, will this never cease?"’

Two men were killed by the
blast, one died of wounds in the Cairns Hospital and a fourth was lost overboard.
"Fifty two were injured and everyone suffered from shock," the lieutenant
commander adds.

There are other fine examples
of the writer’s skill that make these situations live. Such details provide
a fitting conclusion to each account.

Lyne deplores any loss of
life and so goes to great pains to ask "Why?" acknowledging always
that there are clear dangers in the job. He asks questions intended to provoke
a critical assessment of each situation and those questions work wonderfully
well to keep the reader alert to what is being read. That there might be
always some level of 'truth' to be determined is always present in the passages
he writes.

This is an authentic work
and fascinating. lt is rich in the recent history of Australian sailors committed
as a naval force to protecting our shores. As such, it is excellent history
and an entertaining read.

Book Review
Reviewed by Walter Burroughs

Lost: The stories of all ships lost by
the Royal Australian Navy.
Written and published by Allen Lyne in Adelaide, 2013. ISBN
980-0-646-90375-0 in soft cover, 305 pages with plentiful b & w photographs
and some illustrations. Price $32 + $5 postage or in E-Book format
at $12. Available from Kindle.

Allen Lyne had twelve years
service as a sailor in the Royal Australian Navy where be developed
a keen sense of naval history. He later attended the University of Adelaide
and gained an arts degree. His first hand experience and compassion for his fellow man shows
throughout his commentary.

In this book Allen has made
a unique contribution to the historical record in placing much of the copious
information available on the tragic losses of forty-five ships in one convenient
volume. In chronological sequence and with a handy index of ships by name,
this covers a period of sixty years, from the first recorded loss of the submarine
AE1 off New Guinea on 14 September 1914 to the last, that of the patrol boat
HMAS Arrow, which was wrecked during Cyclone Tracey on Christmas Day 1974.
Many know something of the stories surrounding the sinking of the cruisers
Canberra, Perth and Sydney but would have not heard of their smaller counterparts
requisitioned for war-time service such as Patricia Cam and Matafele. Of course
losses do not just refer to ships but invariably the loss of life of those
who served in them.

The book lists forty-five
losses which does not include HMAS Kuru although
she is correctly mentioned in providing assistance during the losses of Armadale,
Patricia Cam and Voyager. Kuru was herself damaged beyond repair following
a severe storm in Darwin in October 1943; she may therefore be added to unenviable
tally of losses.

All information is generally
well researched drawing on numerous sources in discussing details of various
ships and scenarios, leading to their demise. The author follows this commentary
with his own interpretation of these events and draws conclusions. Some of
these appear to follow a personal bias, and may not pass the rigour of critical
analysis.

The book is well laid out
and easy to use both as an enjoyable history and, for later use as reference
material. The work involved in gathering this information into one comprehensive
volume is commendable. The lively commentary engages the reader but the style
is unusual and tends towards the vernacular. There may be a further intent
to invite controversy. In this the author surely succeeds as some of his findings
may be hotly debated.